My family of other animals (Life’s a Journey Link-Up, Week 21)

Revisiting an old post today from the weekly Life’s a Journey series which reflect on life’s journey, old memories and family stories (see below for more info).

My Childhood Fantasy Pet

We were in the car. I was, at a guess, about 7 years old. Mum was driving (as per the norm) and my aunt was riding shotgun. I remember it SO clearly…

“Where are we going mum?”

There was an air of excitement about the journey, even though I had no clue about the planned destination. I think it had been badged as a ‘surprise’.

“OK”, said my mum. “What is it that you want more than anything in the whole world?”

I pondered this for a millisecond, my seven-year-old brain whirling with the knowledge that I had been banging on about one particular thing which I desperately wanted for months. I had sustained a relentless nagging which I seriously doubted would ever actually pay off. Could it really be that? Wow, I really had better parents than I had thought!

“Is it a……hhhorse?” I ventured, tentatively.

“Ah. No.” The reply, accompanied by a stifled snigger, spoke volumes. It had been too much to hope. Probably some crabby relative we’re visiting or something equally boring.

“Try something a bit smaller.”

Oh well, in for a penny…..“A…dog?” I offered.

“Bingo!”

Had my mother really just agreed to buy us a dog?! I leaned forward between the two front seats and screamed (this was the pre Clunk-Click-Every-Trip era) and planted huge kisses on both womens’ cheeks.

Folly, our wonderful dog

This was the day that Folly, the Terrier cross-breed entered our lives.

She was small & black, with a curious ginger beard and a white throat. She had only half a tail – an unfortunate case of mistaken umbilical identity by her mother at birth. She was a beauty, much loved, gentle and loving, and she was our constant companion for about 7 years until her sad demise in 1981. She gave us 7 delightful puppies (an unplanned pregnancy!) in around 1978, which crawled all over each other in the garden shed like little mice. My brother and I adored and named them all, and begged to keep one. Sooo not happening.

In the intervening years, pets have played a huge part in my life. There was:-

a Guinea Pig named Suki

a pair of gerbils (Bubble & Squeak – don’t judge me, the names don’t get any better as you read on…)

a scruffy mongrel dog, Sam, whom I inherited from a scruffy mongrel boyfriend. He simply like me better. Who wouldn’t?

Latterly, as children arrived, pets made a resurgence. So much so that my life is now dominated by furry friends and I am a veritable Doctor Dolittle. Owning a pet is the icing on the cake of childhood, is’t not?

Meet, respectively :-

a) Dandy & Rosie, our Border Terrier brother and sister (we went for one and came home with two. I am weak).

b) Tarzan, the Siberian puss – yes, again with the stupid names.

c) Pancake (what?! It’s flat-shaped!) the vegetarian lizard – in a bid to finally satisfy my eldest’s unquenchable thirst for animals to ignore and for mummy to feed & tend.

We are critter-lovers, I cannot deny it. They bring a degree of joy and fun to our family life which is irreplaceable, along with a degree of chaos which I could well do without.

I love those names! We have had many a dog grace our lives! They bring joy and comfort no human can! We had Sinnamon for 10 sweet years, our blond cocker spaniel. We had Macks for 3 years a golden Retriever. We rescued Jack and Jasmine( great dane-pointer mixes) and got them Adopted. And Rescued Piper (a husky mix) and got her adopted. So we are just left with our two old dogs. Jinger ( our 7 year old red cocker spaniel) and NIckel (our 12 yr old grumpy old man black and white cocker spaniel)! We love them all!